


The Foreign Exchange Student

by worldstealers



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ilvermorny, Friendship, Ilvermorny, Ilvermorny House - Thunderbird, Redemption, Wizarding World of the United States of America
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 22:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldstealers/pseuds/worldstealers
Summary: This is a story that was written and performed on the World Stealers Fan Fiction Podcast.Draco Malfoy may have survived the Second Wizarding War, but going back to Hogwarts means facing too many demons. Instead, he transfers to Ilvermorny in America, seeking asylum from his "complicated" past. Will he escape the judgement of his peers? Will he finally feel accepted as something other than pure blood evil wizard royalty?





	The Foreign Exchange Student

Eloise Bragge was late. The late summer sun shone over Ilvermorny Castle as she hurried down the path towards the school’s main entrance, wishing she had bothered to put on real shoes. It had been a particularly hot August and the temptation to wear as little as possible had been overwhelming that morning. After all, in just a day’s time she would be back in her long, heavy school robes and closed-toe shoes, spending the bulk of her days hunkered over caldrons and books. But still, the hike down the hill from the castle wasn’t ideal in rubber ADIDAS slides; no matter how cool they looked. She sighed and hurried on, her sandals threatening to trip her up with every step.

A boy stood by the gate looking around awkwardly, and she picked up her pace. Blond and pale, he was formally dressed in full, blue and cranberry wizard’s robes, clearly recently purchased. She was momentarily embarrassed at her choice of jean cutoffs and the Spice Girls concert T that she had cropped herself. She felt better, however, once she noticed the sweat beading at his temples. Brits. They’d rather be polite than comfortable. She approached him with a grin.

“Hi! I’m Ellie! Eloise Bragge actually but please don’t call me Eloise. Professor Breckenridge asked me to show you up to the castle? You probably could have made it up yourselves but he thought it would be nice for you to have a guide.”

As she spoke she flicked her wand at each piece of his luggage in succession, sending the trunks and bags sailing up the hill towards the castle. The pale boy tracked his trunk’s ascent, looking mildly worried. 

“Umm I’m Draco.”

“Just Draco? Like Madonna?”

“Who?”

“Madonna? She’s a nomaj singer? Total legend?”

He looked blankly back at her and she rolled her eyes. 

“Purebloods.”

She saw him wince slightly and smiled reassuringly.

“I’m joking! Anyway, I was just asking if you have a last name.”

“Oh. Yeah. Malfoy”

He looked away as he spoke and lock of white blond hair, lank and sweaty, fell away from its carefully combed brethren. He pushed it back impatiently.

“Well nice to meet you Draco Malfoy. What house were you in?”

Draco hesitated, then said quietly, “Slytherin.”

He raised his chin defiantly and looked straight at Ellie this time, as if daring her to react. Ellie met his eyes, desperately curious to know more about this sullen boy. Breckenridge had been reticent about the details of Draco’s involvement in the war and had forbidden her asking questions. But Breckenridge isn’t here… She sighed. But he was awaiting their arrival in the castle. And she was already running behind. Maybe this wasn’t the time. Instead, she turned up the path to the castle, motioning for him to follow. 

“Slytherin. You’re the ambitious guys right? We don’t really have that here; I guess we spread our ambition over all four houses. It’ll be cool to see where you go! I’m Thunderbird myself. I could’ve been Horned Serpent but at eleven I guess the house known for attracting adventurers seemed a lot more glamorous. Maybe that was a mistake but whatever, Thunderbirds are cool. Our Quidditch team is gonna be the bomb this year. Do you guys play? We’re looking for a new seeker but otherwise we’ve all been together for four years now…”

Ellie continued on cheerfully, her pace brisk. Draco lagged a few steps behind. Ellie glanced back and saw his face was flushed, though with anger or embarrassment or simply the effort of the steep hill, she couldn’t say. 

They climbed the short flight of steps up to the doors and paused, reluctant to leave the warm morning sun for the inside of the granite walls. The huge marble statues of Isolt and James smiled down at them from either side of the great wooden doors and Draco ran his hand over Isolt’s foot, shading his eyes to look up at her face.

“Careful! William will be out for your blood if you leave any smudges,” Ellie grinned. Draco snatched his hand back like he’d been burned.

“Who’s William?”

“Our local puckwudgie. Actually there’s like a whole family, but William is the patriarch. He’s ANCIENT. Rumor has it he’s the same William who saved Isolt’s life back when the school was first founded. Obviously he’d laugh at you if you ever suggested such a thing but…” she shrugged. “He’s pretty frickin’ attached to that statue.”

“They were your founders, right?”

“Mmhmm. She was a helluva witch and he was the No-Maj she fell in love with. Originally they just wanted to teach their kids. But turns out there was a niche just waiting to be filled so,” she made a sweeping gesture to the huge castle and its expansive grounds, “here we are!” 

Ellie looked at Draco shrewdly as he stared up at Isolt’s mischevious smile.

“She was a direct descendent of Salazar Slytherin you know. Even had his wand for a while, though she got rid of it after it betrayed her in a duel. Not quite a parseltongue but always had an affinity for snakes. Horned Serpent is her house. I hear Slytherin gets a bad rap over on your side but Isolt was hella cool so… can’t be all bad, right? Anyway, let’s go in. Breckenridge will be waiting to meet you.”

 

The castle was eerily silent the way schools on summer break tend to be; as if it were holding its breath waiting for the noisy, cheerful students to flood back in. Professor Breckenridge was no where to be seen, so they waited in the entrance hall, Ellie settling comfortably on the bottom step of the large staircase and Draco standing rather awkwardly, not sure where to look or what to do. He looked for a moment at the dark-haired girl in her muggle clothes. He felt a twinge of sadness, remembering walking through the front door of Hogwarts for the first time each year, surrounded by friends and admirers. Now this girl was the only person he knew for thousands of miles. The Wizengammot had placed his parents on house arrest after the final battle, so they hadn’t been allowed to travel with him to Massachusetts. Draco had stayed by himself at the small bed and breakfast in Ilvermorny Village last night. He hadn’t wanted to finish school at all, but his mother insisted he have a proper final year, so he had chosen a school that he thought would give him relative anonymity. And yet he’d woken this morning to a note shoved under his door with “Die, Death Eater scum” scrawled across it in a childish, uneven hand. Draco sighed. He had been foolish to think he could escape so easily. He looked at the girl again. At least she hadn’t seemed to hate him on sight. 

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Draco was surprised to find Ellie smiling at him. 

“What’s a penny?” 

She laughed, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

“It’s a No-Maj coin. And expression. What’s up? You looked lost in thought.”

Draco shrugged and fiddled with the hem of his left sleeve. “It’s nothing,” he said quietly. “Just feels a bit weird, not being back at Hogwarts.”

“I bet! I can’t imagine doing my senior year at a different school. It’d be like starting from scratch! Having to make new friends, all the classes being really different probably…”

Ellie trailed off, looking suddenly embarrassed. 

“Sorry. That’s like, definitely not what you need to hear right now.”

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, avoiding each other’s eyes. 

“Hey dude,” she said finally. “I don’t know what happened to you last year. I don’t think anyone over here has the story quite straight and the adults are being pretty tight-lipped about it. All I know is some crazy shit went down at Hogwarts and if you need a fresh start, this is as a good place. Cool?”

Draco looked for a moment as if he were about to speak, but before he could a deep voice rang out above their heads.

“Mr. Malfoy. Welcome to Ilvermorny. I see Miss Bragge has gotten you into the school in one piece, though it appears to have tired her greatly since she knows the stairs are not for lounging and only the greatest exhaustion could have driven her to do so.”

They looked up, Ellie jumping to her feet with a grin and waving at the stately white-haired wizard who stood on the wooden balcony above them. 

“Professor Breckenridge,” she whispered as the headmaster continued down the stairs into the entrance hall. “He pretends to be tough but he’s really a big softie.”

Breckenridge reached the bottom of the stairs and, clearly pretending not to have heard Ellie’s last words, turned to Draco. He shook the boy’s hand, ignored Ellie’s proffered high five, and swept into the center of the room. Draco noticed for the first time a carving of a Gordian knot inlaid with gold on the granite floor. 

“Now,” the headmaster said, his dark eyes serious, “I asked you to be here a day before the rest of the students not only to get your bearings but also sort you into your house in private. The teachers and I agreed that perhaps being sorted with the first years was a little more attention than you might want.”

“The student council agreed and it was, in fact, their idea in the first place so you’re all welcome,” Ellie chimed in.

“Yes, thank you, Eloise, that’s quite enough. As I was saying, we thought it would be best to get you housed and settled so you can join the student body as unobtrusively as possible. Sound good?”

Draco nodded. 

“Excellent. Now I know you’ve been sorted at Hogwarts but the Ilvermorny ceremony is a bit different. Multiple houses might make you an offer and you must choose which offer to accept. The houses here represent the different aspects of every witch or wizard: the mind, the body, the heart, and the soul. The Serpent loves scholars; the Wampus, warriors; the Puckwudgie, healers; and the Thunderbird, adventurers. Some students show a strong affinity for just one but most get offers from several. Occasionally a student will have to choose among all four. Ultimately, however, we try to stress school unity here. Your house is a great source of community, but we don’t keep to our houses at the expense of fostering the student body at large.”

As Professor Breckenridge spoke, Draco began to feel slightly sick. He looked around at the great wooden carvings of the magical beasts that stood imperiously at each point of the compass. At Hogwarts an impartial third party told you where you’d fit in best. Here the house itself had to accept you. He wasn’t a scholar or a warrior or a healer. And an adventurer? That sounded a little too much like where dwell the brave at heart, and he was certainly no Gryffindor. What had he ever been good at, aside from getting his way? He tugged again at his left sleeve, miserable. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Malfoy.”

The sun shone through the glass-domed roof of the entrance hall. Draco raised his chin defiantly and strode to the center of the knot with all the haughtiness he could muster. So what if the carvings didn’t move an inch? He’d leave this second-rate school and head back to England. He stared at the knot on the floor, following its golden ropes as they looped back and forth, refusing to look up at the carvings. He didn’t belong here anyway. 

So intent was he on this thought that he didn’t notice the great thunderbird flap its wings until he heard Ellie let out an undignified whoop. Startled, he glanced up to see that the serpent’s horn was also emitting a gentle glow. He looked back and forth between the two, frozen to the spot, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Professor Breckenridge stood by his side, his dark eye’s looking steadily into Draco’s pale ones. 

“Two fine offers. And now the choice is yours.”

Draco looked at the horned serpent, remembering the ornate “S” of the Slytherin crest. Then he looked back to the thunderbird, catching Ellie’s eye as she winked elaborately and gave him a thumbs up. Before he could change his mind, he mumbled “Thunderbird,” and hurried over to the wall, staring determinedly down at the floor. He wasn’t sure what had made him choose, except that he thought perhaps he’d had enough of snakes. 

 

That evening, broomstick in hand, Ellie hurried down the stairs from her dorm room. She had spent most of the afternoon giving Draco a tour of the castle, babbling on as he remained largely silent, and now she was hoping to get to the Quidditch pitch before it got entirely dark. She was so focused she almost didn’t see Draco sitting in one of the large armchairs in the common room, staring blankly at a note in his lap and rubbing his left wrist. She was tempted to hurry by and leave him lost in thought but Breckenridge had specifically asked her to keep an eye on him. She sighed.

“You ok?”

He glanced up at her, hurriedly shoving the note in the pocket of his robes. 

“Yeah, sure. I’m fine.” Eyeing her broomstick he added, “You going flying?”

“Yeah, first practice later this week and I haven’t been keeping up with training this summer. You play? Want to come?”

For the first time since she’d met him, Draco looked mildly enthusiastic. 

“Yeah, alright. Be right back.”

He leapt up and ran up the stairs to his room. As he went the note fluttered out of his pocket and to the floor. Ellie pick it up. Die, Death Eater scum. She turned it over. Nothing. Just those four handwritten words. Who was this kid?

She didn’t notice Draco return until he stood beside her, clutching his broomstick. He stared at her intently, not angry but guarded, waiting for her to react. She held up the note. 

“Is this about you?”

“Yes.”

“Were you a Death Eater?”

“Yes. Sort of. It was complicated.”

“Why do you keep rubbing your left arm?”

Draco hesitated, then pulled up his left sleeve, revealing the ugly skull emblazoned on his forearm.

“That doesn’t look very ‘complicated.’”

“It wasn’t at the time. Now it is.”

“Does Breckenridge know?”

“Of course. I had to jump through all sorts of hoops to even leave the country. An interview with him, testimony from McGonagall and Potter and the head of magical law enforcement –“ 

“You know Harry Potter?”

“We’re not… close.”

“Oh well yeah, that makes sense.”

“Look. When it came down to it anyone on my side would have killed me to get ahead. And the other side saved my life. Twice. I thought we were fighting for a cause but when you look around you and see that the people on your side are all monsters you have to wonder how just that cause can really be.”

“Yeah. Well. I guess if Breckenridge ok’d you. But you know I’m a mudblood, right?”

Draco looked at her in surprise. 

“We don’t really have that word here. No one cares much at Ilvermorny. But I know what it means and the minute I hear it come out of your mouth I’ll punch you in your pointy chin, got it?”

To her surprise, Draco grinned.

“What?”

“Nothing. Sorry. It’s just that you wouldn’t be the first girl with skinny arms to punch me in the face. It’s a threat I’ve learned to take rather seriously.”

“Well good. Now let’s go take it out on some bludgers.”

 

Hours later, exhausted from flying, Draco and Ellie made their way back up to the school. As they climbed the steps past the smiling James and Isolt, Ellie turned to Draco.

“You fly well, you know.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

“And you said you were a seeker for Slytherin, right?”

“Yeah, though I didn’t play last year.”

“So you’ll try out then.”

Draco didn’t answer, so she barreled on. 

“You’re good, you have experience, we desperately need a good seeker, so you basically have to.”

“I’m…I’ll think about it.”

“You’re not scared, are you?”

“I’m not scared!”

“Well then…”

Ellie continued to needle him as they made their way through the main entrance hall and up the stairs. In the first floor corridor they passed a small, middle aged witch lugging a satchel full of books. Ellie paused and greeted her with a smile.

“Hey Professor Trimble! Need help with that?”

Professor Trimble blinked at her, seemingly surprised at being addressed at all, then smiled wanly.

“No dear. It’s Ellie, right? Anyway I’ve got it I’m nearly there, exercise is good for a woman of my age.”

Ellie turned to Draco.

“Draco, meet Professor Trimble. She’s new this year as well and also from across the pond. We’re having a real British invasion here. Should’ve been one if by land, two if by sea, three if by floo powder, amirite??”

They both stared at her for a moment, then Trimble gave another weak smile.

“Ahhh yes, George Washington, very good. Nice to meet you dear,” she added, turning to Draco. “I’d shake your hand but mine are a bit full at the moment.”

“Nice to meet you as well, Professor. Didn’t I see you at the Ilvermorny Inn?”

“Oh very possible dear. I’ve been staying there while they prepare my rooms. The professor I’m replacing seems to have gone a bit odd towards the end, decided to protect his research with a few well placed curses one of which nearly got the better of me earlier this week, so Professor Breckenridge thought it would be safer if I stayed away until the room could be completely cleared.”

“Oh yeah, Professor Doreen. One of those curses got him in the end. I guess they aren’t great protection if you forget what you place them on.”

“Indeed. Well, I’m off dears. Hope to see you in class.”

With that she continued on.

“What does she teach?” Draco asked quietly, staring after her. “She looks sort of familiar.”

“No-Maj studies. Although I’m not sure how good she’ll be. That was a Paul Revere joke. Anyway, it’s a MACUSA-mandated class ever since they lifted Rappaport’s Law in the 60’s but it seems to attract the oddest teachers. Her first name is Prudence you know. What kind of a name is Prudence?”

“You have to take it too? Even though you’re, you know, muggle-born?”

“Everyone has to. Who am I to say no to an easy A? And say ‘No-Maj, or everyone will think you’re a total snob.”

 

The year began as it always did. Students flooded the school, the new ones were sorted, classes started up again, everyone put off their studies to spend time outside while the weather was still warm. Draco made the Thunderbird quidditch team and found himself, if not surrounded by friends, at least with a few teammates he could reliably eat lunch with. He saw Ellie in classes and at practices, but they found themselves so busy with schoolwork that they didn’t have all that much time to talk. Even so, Draco found it comforting that one person besides Professor Breckenridge knew his secret and didn’t seem to hate him for it. 

Day to day, Draco found himself getting along at Ilvermorny just fine. Yet night after night he found himself waking up in a cold sweat, having dreamt he was back in the astronomy tower with a weak, sick Dumbledore; or around the long table at Malfoy Manor as Charity Burbage twirled helplessly in the air; or in the drawing room under the great glass chandelier, watching Hermione Granger scream. Only in his dreams it was he who cast the killing curses, he who laughed with delight as he shrieked “Crucio!” Even after he awoke, tangled in his sheets, the thought stayed with him. It might as well have been you. It was your fault anyway.

One night, after a particularly vivid nightmare, he lay in bed, wide-awake. Finally, giving up on the possibility of sleep, he made his way out to the common room, hoping a change of scenery would soothe him. To his surprise Ellie was there as well, chin in her hands, frowning into the fire. She looked up as she heard him enter.

“Hey.”

“Hey! Can’t sleep?”

“No. You?”

“Gotta plan a fundraiser for prom. Do you think people would buy “T Birds” jackets in Thunderbird? Like from Grease?”

“What?”

“Nevermind, you’re the wrong person to ask. What’s up with you? You look kind of terrible. No offense.”

“Nightmare.”

“Oh. War stuff?”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the fire. 

“Do you want some tea or something?”

“Nah, thanks. Professor Trimble has been asking me to stay for tea with her after every class. I didn’t know it was possible but I think I’m sick of tea.”

“Score one for truth, justice and the American way.” Ellie paused, looking hard at Draco’s drawn, white face. “Well, do you want to talk about it? The dreams I mean? Not Trimble’s weird crush on you.”

Draco smiled. “I think she just wants news from England. She seems lonely.” He hesitated, then went on. “I saw some terrible things. And did some. And ever since I got here I can’t get it out of my head. I hear their voices and I see them in my dreams. It doesn’t help that Trimble keeps asking about the battle, if I was there, who I knew, what I saw.”

“Have you told her?”

“About this?” Draco touched his arm. “No. I’m a pretty good liar. Something I used to be very proud of.”

“Have you spoken to anyone?”

“Besides you?”

“Yeah like a professional maybe?”

Draco shook his head, not meeting her eyes. 

“I’m afraid they’ll tell me I’m actually crazy. When I say I’m hearing their voices I don’t mean memories. I mean, actually hearing voices. Do you think I’m going insane?”

“I think trauma can do some weird shit to your brain. And I think you should talk to someone. But I don’t think you’re insane.”

“Thanks.”

They lapsed back into silence. Finally, Draco stood up.

“I should head back to bed. Thanks for… not thinking I’m crazy.”

“Any time. And dude? Maybe no more tea with Trimble for a while? Dragging up all those memories… It can’t be helping.”

Draco smiled vaguely. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

 

The weeks wore on, and every time Ellie saw Draco he looked worse. Dark circles bloomed under his eyes and he seemed to have lost weight. He started missing practices, then classes. Finally Ellie went to Professor Breckenridge. 

The door to his office, as was his usual custom, was wide open, and he smiled as Ellie walked in and gestured to the comfortable armchair across from his desk. Breckenridge was the rare administrator who truly enjoyed his students and Ellie had been in his office many times. She settled herself in and took the ginger newt he offered. He took one himself and settled back into his own chair. 

“Eloise. What’s on your mind? I loved your idea for the fundraiser. T Bird jackets! Hilarious. They’ll sell like iced pumpkin juice on a hot day.”

“Thanks, Professor. But actually I’m here to talk about Draco Malfoy. You asked me to keep an eye on him and he seems, like, not good.”

“Go on.” Professor Breckenridge looked suddenly serious. 

“He’s losing weight and missing class. He told me about… his involvement. That’s some pretty heavy shit. 

“Eloise…”  
“Sorry. Stuff. And Professor? Between you and me, he told me he was having nightmares. I wouldn’t break his confidence normally but he seems to be getting worse. I’ve tried to grab him after quidditch practice but I think he’s avoiding me.”

“Indeed? Perhaps it’s time I spoke with him myself. Don’t worry, I won’t betray my source. But it sounds like the time has come to get him some outside help.”

Ellie felt a wave of relief. “Thanks Professor.”

“Of course. Thank you for coming to me.”

Ellie stood up to head out the door then stopped, remembering something.

“Oh, Professor?”

“Hmm?”

“How much to the teachers know? About his involvement?”

“As far as I know, nothing. It’s common knowledge that his parents were on the wrong side, but it wasn’t widely publicized that he himself was a Death Eater. I thought perhaps it might bias the teachers against him so I kept it to myself. Professor Trimble might know more than the others, being a Brit herself, though she’s been in the states since she married an American about fifteen years ago now. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Just curious.”

 

That night, the dark mark appeared above Thunderbird tower. 

The Puckwudgie quidditch team noticed it first as they headed back to the castle after a late practice. They were more curious than fearful, many never having seen it before; however, as word reached the teachers the level of panic in the castle rose. Students were confined to their common rooms with the exception of the Thunderbirds, who were sent to the great hall. Once all students were accounted for they were told to stay put while the teachers figured out what to do.

Ellie found Draco lurking at the edge of the hall, looking terrified. 

“It wasn’t me,” he burst out as soon as he saw her. “I swear it wasn’t me.”

“OK,” she said quietly, looking around and leading him away from a gaggle of curious third years. “I believe you.”

“I think it was for me though. A warning or something. I should’ve known I couldn’t get away. I should’ve known he’d follow me here.”

“Who?”

“You know who! Him!”

“Voldemort?”

“Shhhh!” Draco glanced wildly around, as if expecting the dark lord to walk into the brightly lit hall.

“Draco. He’s dead.”

“Is he? He wasn’t last time!”

“Well this time he is.”

“How do you know?”

“Everyone knows! Look, I think you should talk to Professor Breckenridge.”

“I can’t. I’m sure he thinks it’s me.”

“He doesn’t. I talked to him the other day and – “

“You talked to him? About me? About what I told you?”

“Yes, I’m sorry but I was worried and –“

“I trusted you!”

“I know and I’m sorry but Draco, there’s something you should know about –“

“I don’t want to hear it. I should never have trusted a mudblood.”

And before she could say another word, he was out the door, running down the corridor and out of sight. Ellie watched him go, momentarily stunned. Then, glancing around to be sure she wasn’t watched, she hurried after him.

 

Draco pounded down the hallway away from the sound of voices. He wasn’t sure where he was going but he knew he couldn’t trust anyone. He had to get away.

“Draco?” Professor Trimble’s voice came out of the darkness. She stepped into his path, lighting her wand as she did so. Draco skidded to a halt nearly knocking her over.

“Sorry, Professor.”

“Draco are you alright? Where are you going?”

“No where. I just – nowhere.”

“You should be in the dining hall with the rest of your house.” 

“I know, I just, I had to get away.”

She smiled up at him.

“Well, of course you did. This must be much more frightening for you than for the others. Come along, my office is close. Let me make you a cup of tea.”

Draco, with no more strength to refuse, let himself be led down the hall.

 

Trimble’s office was spare and tidy, much like she was. Not a single personal item or muggle artifact cluttered the room. Draco sat in what had become his usual chair as she put the kettle on the fire and took two mugs out of her desk drawer, dropping a tea bag into each. As the water boiled she sat facing Draco, smiling. 

“It must have been quite a shock to see the dark mark here tonight.”

Draco nodded, swallowing. He didn’t trust himself to speak, not sure he could keep the panic out of his voice. The kettle began to boil and she took it off the fire.

“Such an effective way of causing terror. I can see why You Know Who chose it.”

She spoke softly, pouring hot water into the mugs and handing one to Draco.

“Tell me, Draco. Did you ever cast it yourself?”

Draco’s eyes widened in surprise, even as he took the mug from her small, bony hand.

“What?”

“I asked if you’d ever conjured the Dark Mark yourself, after a kill. Oh come now Draco, you don’t expect me to believe that you spent nearly two years as a Death Eater and never once killed do you? I know you couldn’t quite get the job done with Albus Dumbledore but surely there were others.”

“No, I never – I swear I never –“

“What about her Draco? Did you kill her? Was it you that cast that final curse? Or did you just stand by and watch her die?”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

“WHO? HOW DARE YOU ASK WHO! CHARITY BURBAGE, THAT’S WHO!”

Draco gasped sharply. Her face. He knew she had looked familiar. It wasn’t quite the same, a little less round, a bit sharper featured, but still. He could see her in his mind’s eye, head lolling as she floated above the table, sobbing, helpless. 

“You’re her –“

“Her sister, yes. Prudence Trimble, nee Burbage. Imagine how pleased I was to hear you’d chosen Ilvermorny to finish your schooling. At Hogwarts you’d have been protected. But of course, you wanted to start over. Couldn’t face what you’d done. And so you fell right into my lap.”

She paused and leveled her wand at him. He sat absolutely still. 

“It’s funny, even at a school as egalitarian as Ilvermorny professes to be, no one really pays attention to the muggle studies teacher. What other class could I have gotten away with doing nothing but playing golden age musicals and jazz?”

She laughed to herself.

“Now my real talent, Draco, is potions. You’ve been drinking tea with me all these months and never noticed that the dreams would get worse right after? And the voices would be just a bit louder?”

Draco looked down in horror at his mug.

“I thought for a while I might just drive you insane, but you’ve proven surprisingly resilient. Or perhaps you just didn’t care enough to go mad. Either way, I’ve grown bored. It’s time to finish you off. So, as they say in every American movie, any last words?”

Draco looked at her. Her eyes were wide, full of pain and rage and hatred. He saw Charity Burbage once more, saw her die, saw Nagini slither towards her lifeless body. 

“I – I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t kill her but I saw her die. I should have stopped him. I was scared. I’m sorry.”

Trimble paused. Her wand lowered slightly. Then she shook her head and her mad grin crept back across her face. 

“I don’t believe you little boy. But it doesn’t matter anyway. Avada –“

“EXPERLLIARMUS!!” 

Ellie stood in the doorway, eyes blazing, wand raised. She caught Trimble’s wand as it flew through the air. With a wordless shriek, Trimble leapt at her but Draco, now on his feet, drew his wand and yelled, “PERFECTUS TOTALUS!”

Trimble fell to the ground, stiff as a board, eyes wide and glaring. Ellie and Draco looked at one another, panting. 

“How did you know?”

“I looked her up. Old newspaper archives of her wedding announcement. After I spoke with Breckenridge I just wanted to see who she was before she married and moved here. Found her maiden name but couldn’t figure out why it sounded so familiar until I saw the mark. Then I remembered what you said about Charity Burbage. From your dreams.”

Finally, looking away, Draco managed “Thanks.”

“Oh, sure,” Ellie responded, putting on a casual tone. “Well, couldn’t let her kill our seeker. Now, maybe we should go get a teacher?”

“Yeah.”

 

Ellie and Draco stood at the front gate. Draco, surrounded by his trunks, looked thin and tired, but his face was peaceful. 

“So… you’re sure you don’t want to finish out the year?”

“Yeah. Trimble was nuts, but she was right. Running away to the states isn’t going to make anything better. I need to face up to some stuff back home.”

“How are the nightmares?”

“Better. Back to normal nightmares. The kind I was having without any help.”

“Well… that’s good I guess.”

“Yeah. Hey Ellie? I’m sorry I called you a mudblood. I didn’t mean it.”

“Oh yeah, I know. It’s ok. I owe you a punch in the face though, so I’ll collect on that at some point.”

Draco smiled. “That seems fair. Anyway, you should get going before my mother gets here.”

“Are you ashamed of me?”

“No! I’m not, it’s just… my family is… complicated.”

“It’s ok. I’m joking. I should get to the pitch anyway. We’re trying out your replacement.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s ok. I understand. The rest of the team hates you, but I understand.”

Draco smiled. “Right well…”

“Yeah…”

He held out his hand. Ellie grinned and rolled her eyes. 

“Purebloods.”

She hugged him as he stood unmoving, shocked. Then she turned quickly away and jogged up the hill toward the quidditch pitch. He watched her until he faded, then turned back around, facing the forest and the village below. It was time to go home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked the story and want to hear it dramatically read aloud, check out our podcast, World Stealers, on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you choose to listen!
> 
> https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/worldstealers


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